The perfect two day Tirana itinerary

After spending a month in the Netherlands, we decided to go to Albania. We are currently spending a month in Saranda but wanted to visit Tirana for a few days beforehand. This beautiful capital and one of the biggest cities in the Balkans is not well known to the general public. Besides that, most people who spend a longer time in Albania would instead visit some coastal cities such as Vlora, Saranda, and Dürres.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit Tirana—the exact opposite. Tirana is one of the most fascinating cities to visit when planning a trip to the Balkans. It has a lot of history, culture, and some beautiful landmarks. Since the Albanian dictatorship ended in 1992, Tirana has rapidly evolved as a city.

Tirana is known for its cozy streets in the center, outstanding nightlife, and fantastic traditional restaurants. It also has a lot of contrasts, from the communist era, the Islamic religion, and Orthodox Christianity. We loved visiting Tirana, and we hope our Tirana two-day itinerary will inspire you to see this beautiful capital as well.

What can you expect from our two-day Tirana itinerary?

We have seen many different itineraries on the internet, many inspiring us to visit Tirana. However, some itineraries plan many things to do and see in just a few days. When we go to see and visit different cities and countries, we also like to relax. Doing hundreds of things in a few days isn’t a relaxing holiday. This Tirana itinerary is trying to be different from that. Although we give many tips and tricks for things to do and see in Tirana, if you follow our itinerary, you will have enough time to relax and enjoy your city trip.

Evening view of Tirana from the Pyramid

Tirana itinerary, our top-picks

We can imagine you might not have that much time, especially if you are already in Tirana; you might want to see what to do and see in Tirana quickly. That’s why we have written our top picks in Tirana.

How many days should you spend in Tirana?

We did love every minute of the two days we spent in Tirana. However, this city is not the biggest and can not be compared with London, New York, Mexico City, or Paris. There are enough interesting things to do and see, but we recommend spending two or three days in the beautiful capital of Albania. One day is too little to enjoy and relax when you visit Tirana, but more than four days in Tirana might be too long unless you plan to explore some sights, such as Bovilla Lake & Gamti Mountain. When you also think of going on excursions, seven days will give you enough time to relax, explore the city, and go on some day trips; however, since this is a two-day itinerary, we will show you exactly what we did in Tirana. We have also written about other things to do and to see if you are looking for more things to do in Tirana.

A map of our two-day itinerary in Tirana

Below, you can see the must-visit places and the best things to do in Tirana on our custom-made map. As you can see, many things are almost next to each other. Please wear your comfy shoes and walk from landmark to landmark on our map of the two-day Tirana Itinerary.

Day one in Tirana two-day itinerary

Let’s get into it. This is our day one Tirana itinerary. We promise that we won’t go too fast. Most of these things can be done in a day. You might have to do some extra steps. However, this itinerary of Tirana will give you enough time to visit most of the city’s landmarks. If you still don’t think you have seen enough, we have also written about the best things to do in Tirana.

Day one in Tirana: In the morning

On day one in Tirana, we woke up in the beautiful Marriott Hotel in the AirAlbania stadium. We don’t often spend the night at these types of hotels. We could get a free stay because we accumulated points with our Revolut Ultra subscription. The Marriott Hotel is almost directly in the center. We walked out of the front door and were immediately surrounded by landmarks.

From the Marriott in Tirana, we decided to look for a good spot for breakfast. After a quick search on Google, we found Antigua Coffee. As we had already visited the city of Antigua and knew that Guatemalan coffee is some of the best, we decided to try it. It did not disappoint. This might be the best coffee spot in all of Tirana. We also decided to have our breakfast at this place. That was a good choice. Just like the coffee, the breakfast also didn’t disappoint. From here, we walked to Skanderbeg Square.

A nice cappucino to start off the day in Tirana

Day one in Tirana: In the afternoon

We arrived at Skanderbeg Square. This was one of the most beautiful squares we have ever visited. The square was full of contrasts. It had impressive buildings in different styles from various eras. As you might know, Albania has quite a significant Orthodox and Islamic population. If you mix that with influences from Soviet Union communist-style buildings and American-influenced skyscrapers, you get Skanderbeg Square—a mix of all eras and multiple religions. The square is one of the world’s biggest squares, making it hugely impressive to look at and wander around.

Of course, like the tourists we are, we couldn’t help but take a picture at the I Love Tirana sign. After asking other tourists to take photos of us at the sign, we might have walked around the square for about an hour. There are so many things to see around the beautiful Skanderbeg Square that the hour flew past.

After spending some time at Skanderbeg Square, we decided to go to the Bunk’Art 2 Museum in Tirana. The name might have revealed it, but this is one of the two museums with the same name in Tirana. Although most people in Tirana will tell you that Bunk’Art 1 is a better museum, Bunk’Art 2 is closer to the center. We only had two days in Tirana and needed to fit everything into our itinerary, so we decided to go to Bunk’Art 2. This museum is one of the most interesting museums we have visited while traveling. It is not only interesting, it is also quite heartbreaking. Before going to Tirana, we had some ideas of the dark past Albania had to suffer. However, this museum shed a different light on what the Albanian population had to endure. The tickets to enter the museum cost about $10. However, if you have the money to spend on it, this museum is worth it. We learned so much about Albanian history in this museum.

Skanderbeg Square during the day

Day one in Tirana: In the evening

After visiting the Bunk’Art Museum, we decided to look for something to eat. However, we were both in the mood for a good pizza. We thought it would be nicer to try some traditional Albanian food. When we arrived, our hotel receptionist told us we should go to Tirana Castle for some nice drinks and food. And who are we to ignore advice from a local who works in the tourism industry? We listened. The Tirana Castle is a few minutes’ walk from the Bunk’Art 2 Museum.
The castle is beautiful, but we didn’t come to see the Castle (Fortress of Justinian) in the evening.

No, we came here because this castle doesn’t only serve as a historical landmark in Tirana. This castle is filled with some of the most amazing bars and restaurants that Tirana has to offer. We went inside the castle and immediately wanted to look for something to eat. We were hungry as we had been exploring the city for the past three hours. It was also getting late, so we needed some food. We first saw a big terrace with many people on our right side. Unfortunately, the hostess told us that the place only served drinks and bites. They didn’t serve full meals. Luckily, Albanians are some of the nicest people around. We asked the waitress if there was a place where we could eat some good food. She told us to have dinner at Ceren Ismet Shehu.

It was a fantastic recommendation. This place serves traditional Albanian food, and the food was terrific. Unlike many other restaurants, this place doesn’t give you a typical menu. You can only get an eight-course dinner here. The only choice you get is the type of meat you want to end it with. All the products are locally sourced. Each meal course is better than before, and every bite gets more delicious. In total, the meal cost us around $25 per person. However, because of the fantastic food you get in each course, we would say that it is worth it. There is only one bad thing about eating at this place. In the end, we were so full that we had a lot of struggles finishing the dinner. With full stomachs, we headed back to our hotel. We needed some rest for day two in our Tirana Itinerary.

The nice restaurants and bars in Tirana Castle

Day two in Tirana two-day itinerary

We were still a bit full from our excellent dinner the day before. However, we needed that extra energy. Day two in Tirana was also full of surprises, beautiful buildings, and landmarks. It even included a little bit of shopping. We were very excited to start with our second day in Albania’s capital.

Day two in Tirana: in the morning

If you have been following us for a bit longer or have seen our socials, you know one thing is certain. These people do love coffee. There is no better start to the day than a good breakfast and a nice cappuccino. So, we headed out for a nice breakfast and coffee place. Luckily, Tirana is full of places where you can have great coffee. Eventually, we stumbled on the Recro Thrift Bar. This coffee spot is not just a coffee spot. You can get your cappuccinos and a nice breakfast here and go thrift shopping. The perfect combination. It is a fantastic place for two people who love fashion and shopping but are often in the mood for a good cappuccino. Our breakfast and coffee here were almost as excellent as Antigua specialty coffee.

Day 2 in Tirana: in the afternoon

After having a fantastic breakfast, we decided to walk through Tirana. After all, the capital of Albania is incredibly walkable. There are enough things to see and to do, even if you are not looking for places in particular. As we were far from the hotel, we decided to walk back to the hotel to see if we missed something. And we did. When walking back to the hotel, we saw an impressive building.

We saw the beautiful Namazgah Mosque, which was built in Ottoman Style. Four prominent white minarets surround its large blue dome. The mosque is also the biggest in the Balkans. As we were walking near it, we were so impressed by the building that we had to go inside. However, when you want to visit these beautiful monuments, you have to respect the religion. So, we had to split up. Aemilius took off his shoes and went to the bottom floor. I took off my shoes and went to the top floor. Although the outside of the mosque was beautiful, the inside was even more beautiful. The whole mosque was decorated in a modern Islamic style, as the Mosque has only been opened in 2022. We didn’t need to pay anything to visit this beautiful Mosque. However, if you have some extra cash on hand, we advise you to donate some money, which can be done outside of the mosque.

We were in Tirana in November. Have you ever been to Europe during wintertime? You know what that means. It gets dark around 4:30 PM. We had heard about one thing that we had to do. Although Tirana is not in Egypt or Mexico, it does have pyramids. Well, pyramids, Tirana has one pyramid. It is also not as old as the pyramids in Giza. However, the Pyramid of Tirana is worth a visit if you ask us. This modern white building, in the form of a pyramid, was founded in 1988. However, just since 2023, the building has been renovated. Since we were already walking everywhere, we decided to walk up the little over 100 steps and get to the top of the Pyramid. At the top is a platform with multiple balconies and amazing city views.

We recommend you do the same as we did: Open your weather app on your phone. Check what time the sunset is in Tirana. Walk up the Pyramid of Tirana about 40 minutes before sunset. Spend some time looking at a fantastic sunset over Tirana. There are also some great coffee spots around the pyramid in the summer and spring. After seeing the view from the Pyramid, it was time for some drinks. We were completely exhausted from our two-day Tirana itinerary, and Ajax was also playing. So, we decided to move back to the AirAlbania Stadium slowly.

The outside of the beautiful Namazgah Mosque

Day 2 in Tirana: in the evening

On the way back to the AirAlbania Stadium. We ended up at the Mother Teresa Square. This is the second-largest square in Tirana. Mother Teresa Square is named after the famous Albanian-born Indian Roman Catholic nun and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mother Theresa. However, the Square is not as big as Skanderbeg Square. It is still an important thing to see in your Tirana itinerary. Around this square, you can also see the National Archeological Museum of Tirana and the University of Tirana Rectorate. This square can be visited both at night and during the day. We went here when it was already dark, and there were many beautiful buildings to photograph.

Once we were done looking at all the amazing buildings at Mother Teresa Square, we took a five-minute walk to the AirAlbania stadium. It was Europa League night. Ajax was playing, and our VPN was not working as it should be. We had to find a sports bar in Tirana. And what is a better place to find a sports bar than the newly renovated AirAlbania stadium? Because multiple matches were going on at the same time, we had to find a bar with a lot of TVs. Luckily, we found Duff Sports Bar at the center of the stadium. Here, we watched Ajax win comfortably against Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-0 and had some drinks. We also had some lovely cheese sticks. After that, we could go to bed satisfied. We just walked to the other part of the stadium and entered our hotel.

That concludes our two-day Tirana itinerary.

Street art work in Tirana, next to Mother Teresa Square

Best months to visit Tirana

After reading our Tirana itinerary, you might consider booking a flight to this amazing capital. However, we should first tell you the best time to visit Tirana. Many people online will probably say it is summer or late spring. This is when the city has the highest temperatures, and everything will be open because of the tourist season. We think the beginning of spring in March and April are good times to visit Tirana. At this point, the weather is warmer than most of Europe. But it is not that crowded yet.

We visited Tirana at the beginning of November and loved it. But October would also be great. It is not too warm and not that crowded. You also don’t have to stand in long lines before you can enter things. The temperature in November in Tirana is around 64°F, which is not too warm but pleasant to walk around a city. We believe the best months to visit Tirana are March and April, October and November.

Museums to visit in Tirana

We have alluded a couple of times to this topic in our article. Tirana is full of interesting museums. Some of the best museums to visit in Tirana are:

• Bunk’Art 1
• Bunk’Art 2
• National Archeological Museum
• House of Leaves
• National Museum of History

As you can see, Tirana has more than enough interesting and cool museums. As we didn’t have much time, we decided to visit Bunk’Art 2, close to Skanderbeg Square. The museum did not disappoint.

One of the rooms from the communist era in the Bunk’Art 2 Museum

What neighborhood should you stay in?

As you may have read online or in our two-day Tirana Itinerary, Tirana is very walkable. However, if you like bars and drinking, you should choose one of the best neighborhoods in Tirana to explore this city.

You could choose a hotel near the AirAlbania Stadium or its surrounding streets. If you want to be closer to historical landmarks, a hotel near Skanderbeg Square would be a good option. If you want to live a high life, there are some designer and boutique hotels in the Blloku area of the city. However, we advise you always to pick a hotel near the center.

Although prices in Albania have skyrocketed because of the tourism boom, a hotel in the center of Tirana is still relatively affordable for a regular Western salary. This will also ensure you are within walking distance of any significant landmarks in Tirana.

Is Tirana safe to visit?

You might have heard some rumors about Tirana and Albania. Most of them probably involved the Albanian Mob. These rumors might have made you scared to visit Tirana because you think it is unsafe. However, we assure you that you have nothing to worry about. We felt safe in Tirana both during the day and at night. Nobody bothered us when we were there; most Albanians are very friendly.

Because it is a big city, some parts of Tirana might be unsafe, just like any other big city. However, you will primarily visit the center, where it is safe and there is a police presence. Like any other big European city, Tirana has petty crimes in crowded areas, such as pickpocketing. The crime rate in Tirana is lower than most other places in Europe.

How do you get around in Tirana?

As we have been repeating throughout this Tirana itinerary, the best way to get around Tirana is by foot. Most monuments and landmarks are no longer than a ten-minute walk away from each other.

There are also some other ways to get around Tirana. One of these ways is by taxi. Taxis are present throughout the city and can be found quite easily. The older taxi cars are usually yellow. The newer ones are primarily green and white and drive electric. When getting into a taxi, agreeing on a price beforehand is wise to avoid getting scammed. This is especially important if you are going for a longer distance. However, according to Albanian law, the taxi driver must also put his meter on so you know how much your trip will cost.

Tirana and the rest of Albania don’t have Uber or Bolt.

The last way to get around is by renting a car. We recommend you rent a car only if you plan to visit more cities than Tirana. The traffic in Tirana can get hectic, and if you are not used to driving in this country, it can even be dangerous. If you rent a car in Albania and visit more cities, it would be smart only to use the vehicle to leave Tirana and not use it in Tirana itself.

Day trips from Tirana

If you have an extra couple of days to spend in Tirana, there are also some fantastic things to do in its surrounding areas. These are the five best day trips you can do from Tirana.

What beaches are close to Tirana?

We get it. Many people visit Albania for its beautiful beaches and the sun. The Ionian Sea is one of the most beautiful seas in Europe.

We also spent the month after visiting Tirana, vacationing in the southern coastal city of Saranda. However, Saranda is about four hours away by car. Luckily, there are also beaches close to Tirana.

The closest beach to Tirana is Durrës. However, this beach is often overcrowded, and according to many Reddit posts, it is not the nicest beach to visit in Albania. Another beach you can go to when you are in Tirana is the beach in Golem. This beach is about an hour away from Tirana. Last, you can visit the Cape of Rodon, a two-hour drive from Tirana.

Our favorite bars in Tirana

Albania has quite a significant drinking culture. Many people don’t know this, but Albania also produces a lot of wine. It might come as no surprise that the capital of Albania is filled with nice bars and cool clubs. These are some of the best bars in Tirana.

• Duff Sports Bar
• New Irish Pub
• Bunker 1944 Lounge
• Spy Speakeasy
• Hemingway Tirana

Favourite restaurants in Tirana

Before you go drinking, you must eat a good meal. How else are you going to make it dancing through the night? These are our favorite restaurants in Tirana.

• Ceren Ismet Seshu (if you want to try out some amazing traditional Albanian food)
• Proper Pizza (We went here because the hotel’s receptionist recommended it. When we arrived in Tirana at 1 a.m., it was the only place open.)
• Salt Tirana (Aemilius ate here when he went to Tirana alone a couple of years ago on a solo trip and loved the steak here, but it is mostly known for its sushi)

Aemilius was already happy before we got the food at Ceren Ishmet Seshu

Is Tirana worth visiting?

Yes, yes, and definitely yes. Tirana is a fantastic city to explore and worth visiting. You can already see this in everything we could see and do in our Tirana itinerary. The city is full of history. You can visit plenty of museums, eat at nice restaurants, and drink at designer bars. Because of Albania’s different types of ruling, Tirana also has fantastic architecture. You can see communist buildings, Orthodox churches, and Islamic Mosques. It also still has Ottoman features like the Clock Tower of Tirana. Tirana is worth visiting. We would even say you are missing out if you are not visiting Tirana.

How to get to Tirana?

Many roads lead to Rome, but plenty of roads lead to Tirana. Here are some of the most popular ways to get to Tirana.

By flight

Most people that go to Tirana will arrive here by plane. 81 airports fly to Tirana in 68 cities and 23 countries. Most direct flights to Tirana are from Europe. However, some direct flights from mainland Turkey and the UAE are also coming to Tirana. The most popular cities with airports that fly directly to Tirana are London, Dubai, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul and Paris. Unfortunately, there are almost no flights coming from outside of Europe. We always use Kiwi to find the cheapest flights to destinations like these.

By bus

Another popular way of getting to Tirana is by bus. Many of the surrounding cities have direct bus lines from and to Tirana. Tirana can be reached from almost every major city in Tirana by bus, such as Vlora, Durrës, Berat, Gjirokaster, Saranda, and many others. Not all of these lines are direct, however. Google Maps is the best tool to find bus routes to Tirana. Not only is Tirana reachable by bus from cities within Albania, but it is also reachable by bus from neighboring countries such as Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Greece.

By car

Some of you reading this blog might be thinking of driving to Tirana from a neighboring country or another country close to Albania. This is possible. However, you should expect long queues at the border checking and traffic jams. Especially if you come from Greece, the chance is high that you will be stuck in long traffic jams.

By ferry

Although Tirana doesn’t have a port, many cities in Albania do have ports. This means that you can also go to Albania by ferry. Three towns in Italy (Ancona, Bari, and Brondesa) have a ferry that directly goes to Vlora, Saranda, and Durrës. From all these cities, it is relatively easy to reach Tirana. There is also a ferry from Greece that goes to Saranda. When booking ferries, we prefer to use the Omio app. Booking a ferry ticket online decreases the chances of getting scammed by a sketchy, non-official ticket agency.

Walking & guided tours in Tirana

Tirana is such a walkable city that it offers more than enough walking and guided tours. However, as you can see from our Tirana itinerary, we only had two days to spend in this city. Normally, we like walking tours when we have a couple more days to spend in a town. We explore the first couple of days on our own, and then we go on a guided tour to hear the backstory of the places we have seen and a bit more of the history. This also lets us find some places we wouldn’t have found ourselves. That’s the best thing about going on walking tours. We recommend one of the walking tours of Tirana, which you can see below.

How much do you spend in Tirana?

Let’s be honest. Tirana is less expensive than European capitals such as Rome, Paris, or Amsterdam. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap, but you can still make it relatively affordable. It all depends on what you like to do and what places you want to eat and drink.

Our trip was not necessarily cheap, but we will still try to give you an estimate on traveling to Tirana on a budget, in the mid-range, or when you have the budget for luxury travel.

Budget travel in Tirana – Estimated spending daily

When you budget to travel in Tirana, the chance is high that you will stay at a hostel. This also means you probably make most of the food at your hostel. On a budget travel in Tirana, we estimate you will only eat one meal outside the house and maybe a few drinks. Depending on the season, you can stay at the fantastic ART hostel, which will cost about $35 per night. You might also want to buy some water or sodas and wish to have one meal at a restaurant. In total, we estimate that, including accommodation, you’d spend around $60 per day when you budget travel to Tirana.

Mid-range travel in Tirana

When traveling to Tirana on a mid-range budget, you want to eat most of your meals outside the accommodation. You also would like to visit a museum each day. Besides that, there is a high chance that you will do a guided tour of the city and might want to stay at a nice hotel. However, you do not need to stay in a luxury hotel. On a mid-range budget, having some coffee at different shops is also nice. If traveling to Tirana on a mid-range budget, expect to spend around $150 daily in Tirana.

Luxury travel in Tirana

This is what we did. We went to almost every coffee shop we could find. We had a nice breakfast at different breakfast places and a nice meal between dinner and lunch; we went on a shopping spree and stayed at the Marriott in Tirana. We also visited some of the monuments and a museum. When traveling on a luxury budget to Tirana like us, expect to spend around $350-400 daily and upwards. Of course, you can always make it more expensive by going on more tours or eating at more exclusive establishments. Still, Tirana’s ground luxury travel budget is $350-400 daily, including the accommodation at the Marriott.

Tirana tips & tricks

We would also like to recommend some tips and tricks to everyone. Some we were already prepared for, and others we thought about in Tirana or could have done better.